Stories
Flydubai Co-pilot Attacked Captain with Axe, Passengers Intervened
N
News18•04-10-2026, 10:02
Flydubai Co-pilot Attacked Captain with Axe, Passengers Intervened
- •During flydubai Flight FZ1073, co-pilot Hammam al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar with an axe, causing the aircraft to plunge over 16,000 feet.
- •The wounded captain opened the cockpit door, enabling passengers to intervene and subdue the co-pilot, who was reportedly attempting to crash the plane.
- •A passenger with knowledge from an air-crash TV show helped stabilize the aircraft, and two off-duty Flydubai pilots on board took over to land the plane.
- •The UAE prosecutor general labeled the incident an attempted ‘terrorist attack,’ with ongoing investigations into the co-pilot's motive and any potential affiliations.
- •Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the co-pilot underwent ‘Islamist radical indoctrination’ and was suicidal, though no definitive motive has been established.
Key Questions Answered
Following the flydubai flight incident, the pro-Al Qaeda publication al-Bayan called for copycat attacks targeting American and Israeli airliners, invoking both the September 11, 2001 attacks and the recent aircraft incident.
During flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the co-pilot attacked the captain with an axe and the aircraft plunged over 16,000 feet. Passengers eventually subdued the co-pilot, and two off-duty pilots landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.
The co-pilot, Hammam al-Hammami, was identified as the attacker who used an axe normally kept inside the cockpit for emergency situations to wound the captain.
